Working hard on the bus and accomplishing little, so it seems. I've taken a few pics but posted few on the photobucket page. I've been having problems with the computer and ended up doing a clean install. Lost almost all my documents and bookmarks. Anyway we got one of the "important" things installed. The TV!
We removed this from our last remodel we worked (1926 Craftsman Fireplace Mantle). I had checked on eBay to see what similar mantles sold for. I put an $1800 price on mine (lower than the eBay selling prices). An antiques dealer from Atlanta said it was only worth $200 to $300 and he would give me $200. So I told him I would just keep it and cut it down to put in the bus. I thought he was going to pass out. He got up to $1000 before I walked away from him. I told him it had about $200 worth of tiger oak and I would just keep it. So since it is "worthless" I had no problem slicing about 12" off the width and a little more on the height. We had to take apart to cut it down to fit over the front wheel well next to the entry door. A few pieces could not be salvaged so we cut the replacement pieces from the "waste we removed from the mantle. An electric "stove" heater will be placed in the opening and that will be finished up to look like a woodstove set into a brick fireplace.
TV....
This is the "fancy" mount built literally from scrap. The hinges are "loose pin utility hinges" with a thin wire, bent into an "L" in place of the original pins (thin wire is insulation wires that are used to hold batt insulation in place... usually between the floor joists... very handy stuff). I might replace with a nice looking piece of wood but for now, as we are pressed for time, this will suffice. this TV generates a fair amount of heat and holding it off the backing will help the air circulate behind the TV.
The pin removed from the loose pin hinges allows me to attach all the cabling to the TV.
Refrigerator & Freezer tie downs...
One of four eye bolts thru floor to tie the refrigerators down so they don't move. Did the same for the freezer.
We ran ratcheting cargo straps over the top of the refrigerators (we have two stacked on top of each other). there are 2 straps per unit. We strapped down the bottom one first, then we strapped down the top unit. We did the same for the 12 cf Freezer.
This is the freezer vent. The refrigerators have an identical vent. I made a screen to fit inside the cutout and the metal cross pieces keep the screen from falling "in".
Dash heat vents...
We replaced the paper heat ducts with metal duct we bought at an auction. They were about the same diameter. The biggest difference between the paper ones and the metal is that the paper compresses as you replace things like the dash cover and the metal needs some help in the form of a rubber mallet. I ended up beating all the metal ducts in order to get the front hatches to close and the dash replaced.
What's behind the Hurri-hot cover? Several fans and duct hoses. The fans ran quite well. All the hoses were trashed. Mice had gotten in and made nests. I cleaned up everything and tossed the original hoses. We removed all the fans to make sure there were no surprises deep inside.
A heavy rubber shop vac fit in the small hose vent. I cut a short piece of PVC pipe so that I had something to put a short screw into to hold it securely in place.
All the hoses put back in place. Ready for the cover to be put back on and the vents popped back in place.
How I patched the holes in the floor that were left behind by the various bolts and screws. First I used a small hole saw and cut thru the rubber flooring. The pilot bit made the screw holes nice and clean. A dot of clear elastometric roof seal (Henry's brand from Home Depot) was plopped over the hole. A thin piece of metal flashing was cut with a pair of kitchen shears and pressed into the wet elastometric caulk. The clear seems to be less messy than the black. I used both kinds because I had a partial tube of the black. And it was the last tube of the black I bought.
David cutting the air return hole for the hydronic heat system we are building
Cutting thru the floor for the air return. Good view of the cedar lined chest David made as my wedding present.
Another shot of the floor cutting. The wooden chest you see just past David will be set on a raised platform over the hole. This is a return air vent for the heater and will have a filter placed over the opening. The hot air will be ducted to various points thru the bus including the tank bays.
That's it for the pictures for now.